Chapter 11

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Pre-Reading Activity/Question:


Does the truth always win in the end? Explain your answer.

Vocabulary:

  • mandate (p 97)
  • apex (p 98)
  • travesty (p 103)
  • deluded (p 103)
  • bosh (p 103)
  • scandal (p 107)
  • Figurative Language: "Flo said it was like watching two dogs mark off their boundary lines in a field." (p 98)
"Batten down the hatches." (p 100)
"She's had to run that paper on a shoestring since her husband died." (p 101)

Reading Lesson Topics:


Keeping Track of Story Plot


  • Chapter 11 focuses on G.T.'s campaign. Students can revisit the Positive/Negative Chart as they read.

Writing Activities:

  • How would you describe the tactics being used to get Eli Millstone elected? Use details to support your opinion.

  • Which theme do we come across again in Chapter 11? Describe the circumstances where this theme is evident. Use details from the text to support your answer.

Thinking Like a Writer- Group Collaboration Activity


  • Students work collaboratively to answer a question about Joan Bauer's writing style and craft. Each group is given one question to answer. They must work together to come up with an answer and then present their question/answer to the class. The class must take notes on the presentation. The teacher can model with a fishbowl using the question "What are some of Joan Bauer's best lines in the novel?"
  • Questions:
  1. Why did Joan Bauer decide to include the storyline about Lou Ellen and Anastasia in this novel?
  2. Which character do you think Joan Bauer wants you to learn the most from? Why?
  3. Why do you think Joan Bauer describes food in such detail throughout the novel? For example, in Chapter 11, instead of just saying salad and chili, Bauer says, "I delivered the world's best chef salad and a large bowl of Too-Good Chili to the people on table seventeen who could see how busy I was and kept telling me not to rush.
  4. What techniques does the author use to try to hold the reader's interest? Be specific and find examples from the text.
  5. Which character is the most/least believable? Why?
  6. How would this story be affected if the setting were different? (Hint: Would this story be as realistic if it took place in New York City? Why or why not?)